Puerto Peñasco, Mexico... Day 3

 

   The Grand Mayan is a huge condo structure that went up in 2016 and is still under construction. Only a handful of units are actually open. We have one on the first floor, #3111. The Pinkerton’s are down the hall in 3104. 

   Our patio balconies have a small pool of water that we originally mistook for a hot tub. It is, however, a summertime cool down pool. Right now the 40 degree water is uninviting. The tub apparently runs full of water. So much do that it overflows it’s rim and drains down to recirculating pumps. I can’t imagine the water is fresh and drains out to the sewer!  The problem with our tub is the noise. It makes a loud sound like when you drain a bathtub, only much much louder. It did no make this noise the first day. But it is now!  It started yesterday and has been gurgling all night!  It’s like a Chinese water torture chamber!  I barely got to sleep!  We’re notified maintenance 3 times. They came out the first time we called but the noise returned as soon as the guy left. Now we can’t get them to respond. We may have to take blankets down by the Lazy River tonight if we can’t get their attention!

   Debby made coffee this morning. The strange coffee maker is temperamental. She put in 4 cups of water and it yielded 2 cups of coffee. Now how does that work??

   When we checked into the Mayhan resort on Sunday afternoon, they told us they would upgrade us into the grand Mayan  if we would listen to a sales presentation. It sounded like something we wanted to do so we agreed. We made an appointment for Tuesday morning at 9 AM. Breakfast would be included. So today is Tuesday so we met our host in the main lobby. We walked to the only restaurant open for our breakfast in the beginning I have a sales pitch. We had to smooth talking salesman with us this morning. I figured it might be a hard day. I was right.

   Because our tiny waiting pool I was so noisy all of yesterday afternoon and last night, I made every effort and took every opportunity to tell them I was not happy with the unit and asked if we could relocate. Of course, they had nothing else. Come to find out, there was no heat In the regular Mayan so sticking us into the Grond Mayan was to their advantage anyway. They simply made it sound like they were doing us a favor by giving us a free upgrade if we listened to their spiel.  I asked Carlos how many units were available for people. He said a number more than 300. I asked what their current occupancy was. He said 38. I said, “So you have something else I can move into”?  He said no. I asked him if they had a special unit for the Presidente. He said yes. I said, “Well he’s not coming. Could I have his room”?  He didn’t answer me. 

   Francisco and Carlos treated us to a good breakfast with coffee and juice, omelets, sweet rolls and fresh fruit. They began to talk about the perks to being part of the Vidanta Resort to organization. After an hour or so we walked back to the office for more in depth information.

   It was a tough day. During the course of talking with these two guys, a more powerful salesman came over to financially help seal the deal. The presentation was intense and we felt the pressure.  The bottom line began at $87,000 plus   Over the course of 6 hours, the price was adjusted each time they felt we looked like we weren’t going to buy. The final cost toys was less than  $11,ooo for each couple. They would not let us take the contract back to our rooms and read it unless we paid their down-payment, signed the contract and left our passports with them. 

   Although we were on the fence a few times, good sense took over and we said “no”. After that, our “friends “, Francisco and Carlos did not say goodbye or anything!  

   Our final gauntlet was apparently the General Manager who tried to get on our good side by playing a better new friend than the other three. He even sweetened the pot with a few more perks. By the time this 4th salesman came along, we were toast!  Stick a fork in me...I’m done!  This whole day was short!  Time for dinner!

   I came back to our room, pulled the concrete lid off of the pool control box and closed the water valve. I doesn’t stop 100% of the gurgling noise but it did cut it down by 95%. 

   This evening, Toronto and I took a stroll on the beach. The tide was so far out that we couldn’t make it to the surf. There are literally thousands of various sizes and types of seashells in the sand. I picked up a few for souvenirs. 

   Toronto found one live animal in the sand. I couldn’t tell what it was. When I touched it with my finger, it moved a little, as of closing up.   It was mostly smooth and felt like really tough skin.  I took a couple of pictures but still couldn’t make out what it was. 

   I watched the sun go down taking a photo and headed back. It was dark before we got back but Toronto knew where he was going. I merely let  him lead. After all, that’s his job.